Exploring the anticancer potential of the bacterial protein azurin

Arsenio M. Fialho; Nuno Bernardes; Ananda M Chakrabarty; Arsenio M. Fialho; Nuno Bernardes; Ananda M Chakrabarty

doi:10.3934/microbiol.2016.3.292

AIMS Microbiology

2016, Volume 2, Issue 3: 292-303. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2016.3.292

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Exploring the anticancer potential of the bacterial protein azurin

1.
iBB-Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Biological Sciences Research Group, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
2.
Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
3.
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60612, USA

Received: 28 June 2016 Accepted: 07 August 2016 Published: 11 August 2016

Bacterial proteins and their derivative peptides have emerged as promising anticancer agents. Nowadays they represent a valuable set of candidate drugs with different origins and modes of action. Among these, monomeric cupredoxins, which are metalloproteins involved in the electron transport chain of prokaryotes, have been shown to possess potent anticancer activities. In particular, much attention has been focused on azurin produced by the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. More recently, several in vitro and in vivo studies have reported the multi-targeting anticancer properties of azurin. Moreover, p28, a peptide derived from azurin, has completed two phase I clinical trials in cancer patients with promising results. In this updated review, we examine the current knowledge regarding azurin’s modes of action as an anticancer therapeutic protein. We also review the clinical trial results of p28 emphasizing findings that make it suited (alone or in combination) as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment. Finally we discuss and address the challenges of using the human microbiome to discover novel and unique therapeutic cupredoxin-like proteins.
- anticancer bacterial proteins,
- cupredoxins,
- azurin,
- p28 peptide,
- clinical trials,
- human microbiome
Citation: Arsenio M. Fialho, Nuno Bernardes, Ananda M Chakrabarty. Exploring the anticancer potential of the bacterial protein azurin[J]. AIMS Microbiology, 2016, 2(3): 292-303. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2016.3.292

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Abstract

Bacterial proteins and their derivative peptides have emerged as promising anticancer agents. Nowadays they represent a valuable set of candidate drugs with different origins and modes of action. Among these, monomeric cupredoxins, which are metalloproteins involved in the electron transport chain of prokaryotes, have been shown to possess potent anticancer activities. In particular, much attention has been focused on azurin produced by the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. More recently, several in vitro and in vivo studies have reported the multi-targeting anticancer properties of azurin. Moreover, p28, a peptide derived from azurin, has completed two phase I clinical trials in cancer patients with promising results. In this updated review, we examine the current knowledge regarding azurin’s modes of action as an anticancer therapeutic protein. We also review the clinical trial results of p28 emphasizing findings that make it suited (alone or in combination) as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment. Finally we discuss and address the challenges of using the human microbiome to discover novel and unique therapeutic cupredoxin-like proteins.

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